On the eve of the Golden Age

In about 1590 Amsterdam was already a bustling port when it stood on the eve of spectacular growth. This painting depicts the city half a century earlier from a high, imaginary viewpoint that we call a “bird's-eye-view”. The IJ waterway was teeming with ships. The larger ones were deployed for the grain trade with countries on the Baltic Sea. The Damrak, the most important inland harbour, led to the Dam where all the trading activities converged. For centuries, this painting hung in the city hall on the Dam as a proud remembrance of the city’s past.